Contact

Rating:
Summary: Fails to Deliver the Goods....
Review: Contact is the story of Ellie (Jodi Foster), a tomboyish scientist out to prove that there REALLY is extra-terrestrial life out there. Mathew McConaughey stars as the unconvincing religious scholar Palmer Jones. I found Contact to be slow at first. Once the alien contact was made I found the novel much more interesting. I really enjoyed the slow buildup and the introduction of each new clue to the alien entity.

I was rather lukewarm about Palmer as a love interest. He seemed to lack conviction and faded in and out of Ellie's life with no apparent. reason. I also found the religious message to be rather heavy handed. (Don't get me wrong, I don't mind religious characters, but I hate to be bludgeoned over the head with a message). The whole "Woman Looks For Aliens and Finds her Faith Instead" message I could really do without. Also, the meeting with the 'alien' was anticlimactic and seemed more suited for an episode featuring the star trek holodeck than a big budget film.

Overall, I felt Contact was a rather tepid film, that started out great, but failed to deliver the goods. (Oh, and Ellie's hair stylist needs to be fired. The whole hair extension thing looked cheap and really, really fake!) I give this film 3 stars for the excellent promise. But I'm deducting 1 star for Palmer who was a rather weak and uninteresting love interest, and a half star each for the silly religion/science sideshow and the rather slow start.

Rating:
Summary: Best sci fi ever in some ways
Review: I originally viewed this at the theater. Later purchased the DVD. And view the movie again from time to time. No other movie is as good to watch repeatedly as this one to me.

Jodie Foster does an excellent job in the key character of this movie. And a fine supporting cast do quite well working to make all the events seem plausibly quite real.

Of the negative reviews I see here, they seem to fall into three categories. One is people who knew nothing of Carl Sagan's writings. And think the movie should be juiced up. One is people who read the book and don't like the changes made. And finally those who don't like the treatment of religion or the manner in which the science seemed at odds with religion as portrayed here.

If you aren't familiar with Carl Sagan, then you are possibly looking for the wrong thing from this movie. It isn't a sci-fi thriller meant to mindlessly entertain for a short while.

If you don't like the changes from the book, well I think that a matter of taste. I thought the changes didn't diminish too much the ideas from the book. And some concessions have to be made when books become movies.

For those not liking the portrayal of science and the way it is sometimes at odds with religion I can only say it must have seemed that way to Carl Sagan. And I think it often is at odds. As we advance in science as a culture it will be more at odds in the future. Some compromises or changes will have to occur. This movie left that open ended. As it must do to be honest.

In my opinion, 5 stars all the way.

Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable
Review: This movie will captivate you from the beginning moment until the final credit. Not too many films can do that. Yes, Contact really is THAT good. This movie never panders to you or tries to tell you what is right or wrong. The beautiful story unfolds in front of you. Unforgettable...

Rating:
Summary: IS THERE LIFE OUT THERE
Review: CONTACT poses the philosophical dilemma revolving around the existence of God..or a God. Scientists are thought to believe only those things which can be proven...there has always been a battle between religion and science. Carl Sagan's book and Robert Zemecki's movie are not afraid to approach this dilemma. And it's ironic that in the end, the scientist faces a panel that asks for proof. It's a difficult question, and no answers are given.
The movie itself is a panoramic visual delight from the awesome opening to Ellie's travel to a distant galaxy. Although the movie is a little long in the tooth, Zemeckis coaches a dynamite performance from Jodie Foster. In her role as Ellie, Foster embodies the soul of a woman who has spent her life searching for answers, wanting to believe that there's more to life than us and our planet. Using her distinctive voice, those beautiful eyes, and her heart-felt performance, Foster brings life to a complex, yet innocent, woman. Matthew McConaughey as the spiritual former priest, Palmer Joss, uses his star power to enliven an otherwise poorly developed character. The supporting cast has some good performances from William Fichter, as Ellie's blind companion; James Wood as a slimy National Security director; Tom Skerritt as the underhanded scientist who mocks Ellie and then when something occurs, takes the glory, and Angela Bassett as an aide to the president. Zemeckis uses his FORREST GUMP technique of inserting the then real President Clinton into the film to authenticate the action.
The film works mainly because of Foster. This two time Oscar winner shows why she's one of our finest actresses.

Rating:
Summary: If it's just us...it seems like an awful waste of space
Review: Directed by Robert Zemeckis of "Forrest Gump" fame, there are the same type of visual effects, and more, in "Contact", a movie about receiving an earth-originated TV-broadcast from the star Vega, 26 light-years from Earth.

Jodie Foster plays astro-scientist Ellie Arroway, who is listening for signals from space, and finally detects one. After decoding the message, NASA builds a large machine that was described in blueprints contained within the message. Ellie's slimey boss, played by Tom Skerritt, is selected to be the designated passenger in the machine, but the test-launch is sabotaged by a religious lunatic, killing Skerritt and destroying the machine. Luckily, there is a second machine, secretly built in Japan, and Ellie is chosen to man it. She ends up taking the ride of her life.

The movie co-stars Jena Malone as Ellie as a girl, William Fichtner as a blind astro-scientist, James Woods as the National Security Agency head, and Matthew McConaughey as a not-quite-priest who develops a relationship with Ellie.

The 2-1/2 hour movie is very well made, has many special effects (some are the type you don't notice), generally good acting, and an interesting premise.

The inexpensive DVD has 3 commentaries - one by Zemeckis, one by Foster, and one by the special effects guys; analysis of several specific special effects; sparse analysis of a few computer-animated concepts; includes extensive text-based behinds the scenes information.

Based on Carl Sagan's book "Contact" which interweaves military, religious and science aspects to space-travel. The movie science is suspect, but the story and bigger ideas are solid. Take "the ride".





Rating:
Summary: Dont Waste Your time
Review: The ending to this movie really makes you feel that you wasted a few hours of your life. I cant even think of a worse ending that they possibly couldve done, its like the writers tried to make up the worst ending imaginable

Rating:
Summary: Estamos preparados para algo que no es de este mundo.
Review: Esta nueva version de esta film, toca una tecla poco analizada, podria nuestro orgullo, fanastismo religioso, terrorismo, MIEDO, convivir con otra rasa superior qué no sea la humana, primero el ser humano debe renacer purificarce, dejar al hombre del pasado con todas sus diferencias sociales, esta pelicula invita el espectador a medirse en la posibilidad de estar frente a un hecho que seria tan significante, que daria a este hermoso mundo, darle otro futuro del que se ve a muy simple vista.Esta pelicula entra en la categoria de interesante puesto que las pasiones humanas no se acostubran a pensar que en tanta materia espacio-tiempo seria irracional pensar que estamos solos pues los pueblos mas antiguos de antaño siempre lo supierón, y por qué nosotros no queremos penssar en eso, o no lo creemos uniendo esfuersos en una verdadera empresa de busqueda inteligente fuera de nuestras fronteras.Siempre se supo que el nuestro no era el unico sistema solar y mas que nunca se dice que el numero de planetas es inescribible y sus digitus incalcualble.